16th April 2013
My first official Pinhole camera that I can call my own: I've had this trunk for a few years now and finally found a constructive use for it.
The idea of my pinhole camera was to get sharpness so that I could take Pinhole photographs of landscapes, in specific terms I was after a pihnhole camera that could take photos of the surf, alas it did not work as the pinhole / focal length ratio mean that the shutter has to be left open for 1.5 mins in direct sunlight just to get a good exposure. This is obviously too long to capture a wave, but also gives me an excuse to experiment further.
The canvas
tools - Pinhole made using sewing needle, sanded and attached to cardboard using PVC tape.
light proofing using PVC & electrical tape (comes down to budget - they work well though)
Also made a hood (not shown in photo) for the inside of the lid so that no light leaks would come through the opening cracks
Have measured the inside of the box and put edges using multiple layers of tape in order to be able to place the paper in the centre of the case in relation to the pinhole.
Trunk has also been spray painted inside to avoid any light bouncing around - note sure if this is necessary, it's more of a precaution and the majority of tutorials you will watch/ read regarding pinholes will advise to paint the inside black - in this instance, Black matt spray paint was used.
My Pinhole camera!
self portrait in the evening with bright sunlight on the cliffs - approx 2 minute exposure. First tests done at 4-8 seconds did not work so based on conversations with Chris (Chris Hill Tutor at WITT) time was increased for bright midday sun to 1.5 minutes. I decided to increase it as felt that perhaps the strength of the sun might vary depending on time of day, overall I like the tonal range and I love the detail in the cliffs.
Seascape 1. photo taken at around 5.30 in the evening (after daylight savings so half hour till sundown), decided to take the exposure to 10 minutes but then when the sun peaked out from behind the clouds I decided to stop the exposure time at 4 minutes.
